


Monsieur Greensleeves

by la-fay-ette (vocalhedgehogs)



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Lams - Freeform, M/M, but also sadness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-05 10:05:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5371262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vocalhedgehogs/pseuds/la-fay-ette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John Laurens returns to America and immediately joins the Continental Army to fight for what he has always believed in. Soon after joining, he becomes an aide-de-camp to General George Washington where he meets an attractive young man who just won't shut up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Monsieur Greensleeves

**Author's Note:**

> Hey friends this is going to be a 15 chapter fanfiction which I am going to try to update every Sunday, maybe twice the week of Christmas as like a present if people like it or something, idk. The first three chapters are already written so the next couple of updates are basically guaranteed to be on time, but I do have a job and stuff so if they're a little late, please be sweet and chillax for a couple days. It's going to be almost completely John Laurens x Alexander Hamilton so if you're here for the Eliza x Alexander, there is going to be a very nice chapter centered around that, but the main plot is lams. Explicit rating is for a chapter in the future which I am going to make like an option to read so if you like the plot but not the sexytimes then you don't have to read it. I'll also put trigger warnings at the beginning of every chapter and if you want me to tag something then let me know in the comments and I'll do it. ALSO (this one is very important) I have made some time changes to fit the needs of my story. Most of you probably won't notice most of them, but some of the important ones are that Washington has brought his troops to Valley Forge not on December 19, 1777, but on September 19, 1777 and that Alexander Hamilton marries Elizabeth Schuyler not on December 14, 1780, but on December 14, 1777. Alright thanks for reading my stuff, have a good time.

John Laurens sighed as he finally spotted the distant horizon of the city of Boston. It was early September, and passengers aboard the ship _Lady Rocknes_ travelling from England to Massachusetts could glimpse the colony’s red, orange, maroon, and yellow skyline through the morning mist. Most were just there for a week or two on business and weren’t overly excited to be visiting the rebellious city but Laurens couldn’t wait.

               There were several reasons for his impatience to leave the ship. Firstly, he got horribly seasick whenever he even looked at a ship, and, though travel had gotten better as time passed, boats didn’t agree with him at all. The other, more important reason that he couldn’t wait to get to America was that it was his childhood home in which he had lived until his mother died, at which point he had gone to first Switzerland and then to England in order to further his education. This would be his first time setting foot in the country he loved since his youth and he planned to go straight to Philadelphia to enlist in the Continental Army.

               He had always been a Patriot, his father had made sure to plant the idea of freedom in the minds of his siblings and him when they were very young. As he grew older, he developed his own ideas and became a fierce abolitionist. He hoped that in the army he could rise in the ranks and eventually get enough people to support his idea for a battalion made up of free slaves for it to happen. His father sounded doubtful in the letters he wrote, but he supported John nonetheless.

               When the ship docked at long last, Laurens was the first one at the ramp. He made his way carefully down toward solid ground and managed to get there without tripping and breaking his neck. He gathered his bags and went to a tavern across the cobblestone street to wait for the stagecoach that was scheduled to meet him at the dock.

               The tavern was pretty standard, with the wall behind the bar being made of brick and the other three being made of wood, with windows on either side of the front entrance. Tables and chairs were scattered around the room, and the chairs seemed not to belong anywhere, they simply rested wherever the person who had last used them needed to sit in order to be a part of whatever the most interesting conversation was at the moment. The several bar stools had more order, but Laurens still struggled to actually get one in position so he could sit at the bar. He almost had it when a pair of large, calloused hands came into view and took the stool over to another which appeared to belong to the owner of the hands.

               He was about to ask what this guy’s problem was when he held out a hand and said “Hercules Mulligan, at your service.”

               His voice was warm and deep, it reminded Laurens of the melted butter that came on top of the mashed potatoes he annually ate at Thanksgiving dinner. Hercules was also tall and well-built, yet seemed as friendly and harmless as a twelve-year-old. That might’ve been because of his eyes, which were a dark brown that sparkled and made it appear as if he was smiling all the time.

               Laurens shouldered one of his bags and took Mulligan’s hand with a firm grip. He didn’t know why he felt better all of a sudden, but he did. And he didn’t know why he trusted this virtual stranger, but he did.

               “John Laurens,” he said, still shaking the other man’s hand, “thank-you.”

               “No problem.” Mulligan replied, taking one of his bags over to the bar. “You looked like you were really struggling with all this. Where’re you comin’ from? Or where’re you goin’?”

               “It’s actually both. I’ve just gotten here from England but I’m leaving for Philadelphia straight away. I’ll be gone just as soon as the stagecoach gets here so I can’t talk for long.” They were both seated at the bar now.

               “Yeah, I’m not gonna be here for long either. Just grabbin’ one last drink before I head out to Manhattan. I own a tailor shop there.” He turned to the bartender. “Just a pint please, Tommy.”

               “Same thing please.” He turned to Mulligan, who appeared to know a great number of people in the bar, judging by the way he would occasionally give a friendly wave or smile or wink to one of the patrons. Despite all of this, Laurens never doubted that he held Mulligan’s full attention. “Well if I ever need any clothes I’ll come to you.”

               “That’s what everyone who passes through here says. Not one of them has ever actually done it, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

               “Really, though. I’m going to enlist in the Continental Army as soon as I can, and that could take me anywhere. If I’m ever in Manhattan I’ll stop by. Brag to everyone that I know the greatest tailor in New York, Hercules Mulligan!” Usually Laurens could handle a bit more to drink before getting tipsy, he figured it was just the excitement of being in America again combined with the lack of sleep from the voyage.

               Mulligan gave a deep chuckle. “And I’ll tell everyone that I know the future savior of the Continental Army, John Laurens!”

               Before they knew it, the two had consumed more alcohol than was necessary, and it was way past the time that Laurens’s coach should’ve arrived, which he realized during a lull in the conversation.

               “It’s alright, Johnny-boy, I’ll take you down to Philly, I’ve got friends there, I can afford to keep the shop closed for a few more days. Business has been slow since all this revolution business started up anyway.” Mulligan offered kindly, standing up with one of Laurens’s bags already in hand.

               “Are you sure? You don’t have to do that for me, I can find a way.” Laurens protests proved futile though, as Mulligan was already out the door, heading across the street to where a horse and cart were tied to one of the street lamps.

               Mulligan threw Laurens’s bags in the cart along with his own and they were off, watching the sun set red and orange and pink across the Atlantic Ocean.

~~~

               Along the road to Philadelphia, the two men learned a lot about each other. Laurens discovered that Mulligan, while it might have been a slightly watered-down version, shared his views on abolition. They were also both Patriots, though Mulligan said that he wasn’t joining the Continental Army because he had ‘more-important business.’ Laurens wondered what could be more important that becoming a soldier to fight for what they believed in, but, as he had learned before, he trusted Mulligan.

               Apparently Mulligan knew people all over the United States, based on the way he greeted the young officer in charge of enlisting in the Continental Army. As soon as he saw the 6’1” man coming, he stood up from his desk and gave Mulligan a bear-hug.

               “Mulligan!” he laughed. “What’re you doing here? You’re supposed to be in Manhattan running that tailor shop of yours.”

               “Well I couldn’t return to _work_ without making sure my friend John Laurens here made his trip safely, now could I?”

               The officer, who was also extremely tall, turned to look down at Laurens as if noticing he was there for the first time.

               “So you’re here to enlist in the Continentals, eh?” he asked. “Good man. Well you’d have to be to be friends with Mulligan. He’s not the friendly sort.”

               “Oh, you shut up.” Mulligan chided, obviously unfazed by the friendly jab as his trusting and open personality. “Let’s get Laurens signed up already, he can’t take the suspense anymore.”

               Mulligan laughed again as they walked back over to the desk where a large book full of signatures lie open to the first blank page, which was somewhere around page fifteen. Laurens began to worry that the fight for freedom wasn’t going as well as his father said in his letters, but he quickly dismissed the idea. There were plenty of explanations for why the book wasn’t full.

               After Mulligan’s friend read him a paper listing the things that he was agreeing to by enlisting, Laurens signed the book. It felt sort of anticlimactic, but what had he expected would happen immediately after he signed a piece of paper?

               “Alright, son, go and wait over there. We’ll leave to meet General Washington at Valley Forge tonight.” The officer gestured to a cart where about five other young men were waiting.

               Laurens said his goodbyes and thank-yous to Mulligan, who insisted on giving him an immense hug similar to the one he had greeted his old friend with just minutes ago, and walked over to wait by the cart for his military career to begin.

~~~

               Life at Valley Forge was also pretty anticlimactic. All day, every day, all they did were drills. Laurens had wanted to fight for freedom but he didn’t feel like he was doing anything when he hadn’t seen combat even once.

               He figured this all might be bearable if he had someone to talk to, but he hadn’t made any friends or even acquaintances so far. He thought about trying to talk to some of the other men, but he was afraid they might look down on him for his formal education and privileged childhood. To avoid anyone unnecessarily finding out about that, he tried to avoid speaking French as much as possible. He managed to keep this up until one day when he was quite rudely insulted at dinner.

               He had managed to accidentally knock a cup from one of the French officers’ hand, after which he was called a “porcine americaine” so he decided to retaliate by showing the Frenchman that he was more cultured than he seemed. They had quite the conversation that day, most of which Laurens would not like to repeat in French or in English, but little did he know that someone who would turn out to be very important in his life was listening in.

~~~

               “Sir, if I could borrow just a moment of your time?” Alexander Hamilton stood at the entrance to General George Washington’s tent, his red hair faintly illuminated by the candle light coming from within.

               “Certainly, son. You are, after all, one of my most treasured aides.” Washington beckoned him in and gestured to a chair on the other side of the desk at which he was sitting.

               “Actually, sir, that’s what I came here to talk to you about. I know how useful having someone around who is able to speak fluently in both French and English has been, and I would hate to see you lose that.”

               “What are you getting at, Hamilton?”

               “Well, sir, there’s another young man who I saw at dinner the other day, who appeared to be fluent in both languages. I think that he would make a valuable aide, we would just have to make sure with a small interview.”

               Washington considered it for a moment. “Why would I need another aide-de-camp who can do that when I already have you?”

               “Well, as I said before, I would hate to see you lose someone who can translate for you, if I were to be injured in battle or perhaps,” he paused for a moment, “even promoted?”

               “I’ve told you already, Hamilton, you’re much too valuable for me to lose, you and I have known each other so long that you are able to write letters and speeches as if you were me. We have the ability to think with one mind- the mind of the people, but I will consider this young man. Set up an interview immediately.”

               “Yes, sir!” Hamilton said. He was rather saddened that the General wouldn’t even consider promoting him, but he had known that was a long-shot anyway. He was mostly excited that, with enough persuasion, he would soon be working with the startlingly attractive bilingual young man he had spotted the other day. Making a note in Washington’s schedule to allow time for the interview, Hamilton imagined just what he could do with John Laurens.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this. Read the notes at the beginning if you have any questions about updating or are confused about the timeline. I know I wrote a lot up there so it's chill if you didn't read it. (I probably wouldn't either lmao)


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